Large Greens vs Small Greens

JB

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Talking to a friend today about courses and he just came back from a trip where he played a resort course with some of the largest greens he has played and a private club with postage stamp sized greens. He preferred the large greens.

Do you have a preference and why?
 
I prefer smaller. A large green can put me too far away from a pin for my liking, whereas on a smaller green I’m able to chip it close then, more often than not, one putt. My long, lag putting leaves SO much to be desired.

But also with a smaller green, it causes me to be more cognizant of the shot I want because I have a smaller landing area. With a big green, obviously I want to put it close but if I can just swing and hit the green, I’m not worried as much about the shot I take/make.
 
Home course had extremely large greens and of you were in the opposite end it was really difficult to 2 putt.. they started growing the grass so now if you are on the fringe (what was the old green) you can chip is fairly close and maaaaybe sink the putt

Another course with much small greens was pretty difficult to hit and had a lot of slopes and valleys.. I did prefer the challenge of having to be more precise

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Honestly, I think I would prefer smaller greens. I miss greens about 62% of the time according to previously tallied Arrcos golf data and when I would hit GIR 21% of those were 3 putts.... so in my mind, if the greens are smaller and I hit them at the same rate as these data (I know... that's unlikely... they're smaller greens, but I'm humoring myself) my 3 putts will go down along with my scores.
 
I prefer big greens, mainly because compared to resort courses and the likes I play on postage stamps here, even our "big" greens are tiny in comparison.
 
This is a tough one. On one hand, hitting greens gives me confidence that I’m playing well, but if I’m hitting greens but three putting due to the first putt being so far away, then that can break the confidence quickly. Plus if you miss big greens, the chipping has to be quality as well to have good chances at getting up and down.

Small greens can cause me to also play more reserved/being more afraid of missing in the wrong spot, so I don’t swing as freely and can really make a snafu of a hole.

I guess I would have to say larger greens. I’d rather have more chances putting for birdie (no matter how realistic that birdie chance is) than having to get up and down for par constantly due to missing greens and leaving myself either short sided or guarding against a mistake.
 
I like smaller, Works better for my aiming. If i can keep a good GIR on postage stamps, when i go to resort style courses, i am aiming at the pins. Aim Small, Miss Small
 
Prefer smaller greens. Aim small miss small literally.

Large greens makes me risk 3 putts if I leave it too long. I feel I would rather chip onto a smaller green and get myself within 3-5 feet for a par opportunity.
 
I primarily play courses with small greens . It forces me to rely on a short game. As a result of playing courses with small greens, I am challenged by larger greeens and potential long putts.
 
larger. i’m more apt to 2-putt for par from distance than i am get up and down from off the green, even from short range.
 
I grew up playing a course that has small greens. So I guess I prefer that because I'm used to it.
 
why not put a putter in my hand?

my home greens are tiny compared to lots of courses out there

and for the 3 putt avoiders, 3 putting for 6 or 2 putting for 6 or 1 putting for 6, it's still a 6
 
larger. i’m more apt to 2-putt for par from distance than i am get up and down from off the green, even from short range.
Same for me. Especially with so many courses in neighborhoods. I’m always afraid I’m going to hit a house. ?
 
I've never thought about it but I think I prefer smaller greens. It's what I grew up on and I'm usually pretty good at chipping if I miss by a little bit but lag putting can get a little dicey and lead to 3 putts.
 
My answer is two fold...

I prefer small greens because I would rather have a short chip than extremely long putt. On the flip side my home course has exceptionally large greens, which allows for different pin placements, keeping the course more enjoyable with the amount of times I play it.
 
Smaller greens I think. Otherwise I end up with 50 foot putts and god knows I'm no good at lag putting.
 
I think I prefer larger greens overall, but honestly I'm not sure I'm better putting from 50 ft+ than I am chipping.
 
I prefer larger greens because putting is my strongest part of my game and the sooner I am there the better for my score. Would rather have a 60 foot putt than a 60 foot chip.
 
Talking to a friend today about courses and he just came back from a trip where he played a resort course with some of the largest greens he has played and a private club with postage stamp sized greens. He preferred the large greens.

Do you have a preference and why?
Obviously larger greens mean more GIRs, but I feel like it makes me lazy.

I'll take a small to mid green most days. Give me a large fairway instead.
 
Neither. I like mid-sized. Unless the small greens are not guarded by really penal bunkers etc, but most of the small green courses I've played are.....
 
I prefer smaller greens. Nothing worse than having a 65 foot putt for birdie from the wrong quadrant
 
Give me a bigger green. I feel way more comfortable hitting my approach to larger landing area
 
I lean towards smaller. I'd rather try to get it close with a wedge from off the green than try to guess the pace of an 80 foot undulating sidewinder.
 
I like a course that mixes it up especially with a curveball like a short hole with a giant green or a longer one with a tiny green. If they’re all the same in size or shape it gets pretty boring


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I don't have nearly the course experience of many here. But for me this falls in the "it depends" category. Aesthetically I love large greens with multiple tiers. I hate putting on them, of course, because I have a knack for finding the wrong tier. Small greens can look odd, but they are often framed with the pain of lots of bunkers or penal slopes. I prefer more challenging courses and enjoy seeing how different layouts and approaches can bring the pain. So with green size, it depends.
 
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